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Sanctioned and isolated, Iran boldly bans the Simpsons
Following a ban on Barbies, Iran's ban on the Simpsons is part of a soft culture war that can mean only one thing. We're just not sure what it is. -Scott Baldauf, CSM - 2/8/12
Photos: Mass Wedding at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran
A mass wedding ceremony for students was held at Tehran's Shahid Beheshti University on Friday, 300 couples tied the knots. This was the 15th time such a program was being held. -Hemmat Khahi - 2/5/12
Photos: Zoroastrians Celebrate Sadeh Festival in Kerman
Sadeh festival was celebrated by the Iranian Zoroastrians in Kerman on Monday night. Sadeh is an ancient Iranian tradition celebrated 50 days before Persian New Year Norouz. - 2/2/12
Photos: Iran's Zoroastrians Celebrate the Sadeh Festival
Sadeh was the national festival of ancient Persia when Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion, before the conquest of Islam in the 7th century. Now it is mostly celebrated just in the homes and temples of Iran's about 60,000 remaining Zoroastrians. - 2/1/12
Iran's Cyberpolice Detain Facebook Group Administrators
Iran's cyberpolice say they have arrested four administrators of a Facebook group called "Daaf and Paaf," which had launched an online beauty competition. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 1/31/12
Breaking bread, delivering dreams: The art of hospitality in Iran
If Iranians are known for the excellence of their hospitality the world over, it is not as surprising as they have a long practice and history of guest culture. Ancient Iranian calendars marked numerous festivals and meaningful occasions of merriment in which Iranians had the opportunity to play the good host and the blessed guest. -Maryam Ala Amjadi - 1/29/12
With the Verve of Words: Learning Foreign Languages in Iran
Dr. Azita Afrashi is an Iranian linguist who is an assistant professor at the Linguistics Department, Center for Humanities and Cultural Studies. She has three books on language and semantics and many research articles in national and international journals to her credit. - 1/27/12
Photos: Historic Hajij Village Facing A Grim Future
The historic village Hajij is the last village of the border town of Nosoud in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah. 180 families live in the village. But now the village is faced with a grim future. As the construction of the Darian dam which started three years ago is completed, some of the houses in the village will be consumed by water. -Armin Karami - 1/25/12
Iranian Actress Breaks Taboos, Sparks Scandal By Posing Topless
An Iranian actress living in Paris has been praised for her courage and criticized for her indecency after posing topless for a French magazine and posting the photo on her Facebook page. Golshifteh Farahani, who moved to France last year, says Iranian authorities have told her not to return home. -Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE - 1/19/12
Iran To Extend Gender Segregation To School Textbooks
Iran's Ministry of Education has announced it will soon publish separate school textbooks for boys and girls, creating another area of gender segregation in the Islamic republic. -Frud Bezhan, RFE - 1/18/12
Payvand's top 20 News stories of 2011
With millions of article impressions and thousands of articles on Payvand.com every year, here are the top 20 news stories most viewed, in case you missed any. These viral articles are a reflection of what captured our attention the most in 2011. - 1/16/12
Language of a nation: A glimpse of traditional Persian music
Ostaad (Master) Farhang Sharif (born 1931) in Amol, northern Iran is a well-known Iranian musician and renowned taar (Persian lute) player who has spent more than 70 years of his life on this exclusively Persian musical instrument. -Maryam Ala Amjadi - 1/14/12
Minoo Moallem to talk "Carpets and Computers" at the Tech Museum
Minoo Moallem is Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at UC Berkeley challenges the mainstream stereotypical representation of Islam and Muslims as backward, fanatical, and pre-modern by showing how Islamic nationalism and fundamentalism are by-products of modernity. - 1/13/12
Ilam struggles with rising suicide rate
The suicide rate in the western Iranian province of Ilam has risen to a critical level, says a provincial health official. Unemployment is a major cause of suicide, said Ilam MP Daryoosh Ghanbari, who noted last month that his province has the country's highest suicide rate. - 1/3/12
Photos: New Year Celebration at Sarkis Church in Tehran
Iran's Armenian Christian community held a ceremony at Sarkis Church in Tehran on Saturday night to celebrate the New Year 2012. During the ceremony, special prayers were said and New Year's bread was distributed among those attending the celebration. - 1/2/12
Photos: Armenians Celebrate New Year In Isfahan
The Armenian residents of Isfahan, central Iran, celebrated the arrival of the new year during religious ceremonies held on Saturday night. According to estimates, nearly 200,000 Christians are living in Iran. - 1/2/12
Iran Heritage Foundation Visiting Fellowship Programme at SOAS, London
One Fellowship will be tenable from March 2012 for a maximum period of six months. Thereafter, two Fellowships per year will be offered starting from the beginning of the academic year 2012/13. Each Fellowship is available for a minimum of four and a maximum of six months. - 12/29/11
Publishers express grave concern over Iranians' reluctance to read books
Analysts believe that Iranian people's aversion to book reading points to factors far beyond a lack of an appropriate environment for booksellers. They said that the high cost of living in Iran is the major reason for the unwillingness to purchase and read books in Iran. - 12/27/11
Ahmadinejad steps into Iran's dress-code debate
While leading Shiite Muslim clerics advise women to wear chadors - the traditional head-to-toe cloak, usually black - Iran's urban fashionistas increasingly prefer tight-fitting coats and scant head scarves. Now, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is stepping into the dispute. -Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post - 12/26/11
Iranian Christian Journalist Discusses Government Campaign to Target Protestants
In the weeks leading up to the 2010 Christmas holiday, authorities arrested over 100 Protestant Christians and Christian converts in Tehran and other cities across Iran. Many of these people were active in house-churches, and authorities eventually released most of them. - 12/25/11
Photos: Yalda Night Shopping in Tehran
Yalda Night as called in the Persian solar calendar is a night with especial ceremonies. Families get together on Yalda Night at the home of the elders until after midnight. They are served with dried fruits, nuts, and winter fruits like pomegranates and watermelons, which are said to symbolize the red color of dawn in the sky. -Fatemeh Behboudi - 12/21/11
Iranians preparing for Yalda Night ceremonies
Yalda Night is the Persian Winter Solstice Celebration which has been popular since ancient times. Yalda is celebrated on the Northern Hemisphere's longest night of the year, that is, on the eve of the Winter Solstice. - 12/20/11
Farewell to fall, salute to snow: Yalda and the advent of winter in Iran
Of all ancient Persian rituals, it is mainly two festivals that are unanimously celebrated by Iranians today, Yalda Night (the birth of a new sun) and the Persian New Year (Norouz, the birth of a new day). Wherever in the world they are, Iranians somehow feel committed and relate to these festivities. -Maryam Ala Amjadi - 12/19/11
Zoorkhaneh: Physical strength through moral purity
From the beginning of the human civilization many forms and methods of physical training, with consideration to some spiritual or religious believes, social values and/or political exigencies have emerged and some of them for somehow the same reasons have vanished in the course of time. - 12/14/11
Photos: Ashura Mourning Rituals in Taft, Yazd
Ashura mourning rituals were held Tuesday in the town of Taft in the central province of Yazd in Iran. In the recent decades, Ashura has been turning into a carnival like event where people in different regions of Iran enact various events as they see them happened in Karbala. -Ali Golshan - 12/7/11
Photos: Ashura Mourning Rituals in Khusf, Birjand
Ashura mourning rituals were held Tuesday in the town of Khusf south of the provinical town of Birjand in South Khorasan province, eastern Iran. Every year millions of people across Iran mark Ashura, the day Imam Hossein (the grandson of Prophet Mohammed) was martyred in 680 AD in the battle of Karbala. -Amir Hossein Haydari - 12/7/11
Photos: Ashura Mourning Rituals in Khomeini Shahr, Isfahan
Ashura mourning rituals were held Tuesday in Khomeini Shahr, Isfahan in central Iran. Every year millions of people across Iran mark Ashura, the day Imam Hossein (the grandson of Prophet Mohammed) was martyred in 680 AD in the battle of Karbala. -Abolfazl Salmanzadeh - 12/6/11
Photos: Persian Koloocheh Bread For Imam Hussein
As part of the Muharram mourning rituals, the people of Ahangar neighborhood in Gorgan, northern Iran, bake traditional Persian Koloocheh bread and distribute it among the people. -Aboutaleb Nadri - 12/6/11
Honoring Ashura in Iran
This Monday marks the Muslim holy day of Ashura, a day that is perhaps nowhere more ardently commemorated than in Iran. The only way to fully understand what this day means to so many Iranians is to delve into a history that has repeated itself there for years on end. -Melody Moezzi, Washington Post - 12/5/11
Pillars to paradise: The concept of pilgrimage in Iran
Naser Norouzzadeh Chegini is a renowned and prolific Iranian scholar and professor retired of archeology. He has previously worked as the curator of the Historic Section in the National Museum of Iran and as the director of Archeology Research Center at Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization. In an interview with Maryam Ala Amjadi he discusses the social and cultural aspects of pilgrimage in Iran. - 12/4/11
Nine executed in Iran for drug and rape charges
With another nine executions today, the number of hangings in Iran in the past five days has reached 21. - 11/30/11
Mehrdad Oskuii's documentary "Last Days of Winter" wins award at IDFA
Iranian documentary "The Last Days of Winter" has won the BlackBerry Award at the 24th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). Directed by Mehrdad Oskuii, the film is a portrait of seven Iranian boys in a youth detention center, talking candidly about their lives. - 11/27/11
A Lot Can Happen Over Coffee: From Traditional Persian Coffee Houses to Modern Cafes
Regardless of its humane or inhumane face and impact, time inevitably passes through us. So, what seems important and inspirational is how human beings look for and create ways to pass the time. And that leads us to the amusing concept of pastime and hangout. -Maryam Ala Amjadi - 11/27/11
Two Iranian elements added to UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List
Naqqali, Iranian dramatic story-telling and the traditional skills of building and sailing Iranian Lenj boats in the Persian Gulf were inscribed on the list during the sixth session of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which opened in Bali, Indonesia, on November 22. - 11/25/11
Heaven is a feeling not a place: The Persian Garden story
No one can inspire humans with hope like Mother Nature and nowhere can she playfully display the greater extent of her will than in the garden of human mind. The summer of passion and recline, the autumn of loss and melancholy, the winter of despair and isolation and once again the spring of growth and the rebirth of hope. -Maryam Ala Amjadi - 11/21/11
Photos: First Fashion and Coat Exhibition in Tehran
The first "fashion and coat exhibition" was inaugurated at Niavaran Cultural Center in Tehran on Saturday. Designers have presented 110 works at the festival. Another 200 works are being presented in digital form. -Arash Khamooshi - 11/20/11
White hair and the colors of prestige: The social and cultural status of the elderly in Iran
White hair and white beard have always been used as signifiers of reverence for old age wisdom and honoring the elders in the Iranian culture. In fact, even today if an elderly person and a young one fall into the pitfalls of disagreement, it is expected that the young would observe the "hormat" of the elder's white hair and white beard, probably keep silent and not retort. -Maryam Ala Amjadi, Tehran Times - 11/20/11
Iran's population exceeds 75 million, preliminary census data show
According to the preliminary data of the 2011 National Population and Housing Census of Iran, the country's population has exceeded 75 million people, an official of the Statistical Center of Iran said on Wednesday. - 11/17/11
Photos: Persian Beets, A Warm Remedy For The Cold Season!
During the cold season, street vendors in Iranian cities sell warm beets, usually fireroasted, and lima beans. The beets, with steam rising from them, are especially very inviting and provide the much needed warmth in the cold days! -Abolfazl Mahrokh - 11/14/11
Tehran's coffee shops provide a retreat
Hidden in a corner of the atrium of the tiny Feresteh shopping center, right behind Tehran's only Victoria's Secret and a traditional pastry seller, the high-end Lime coffee shop is only for those who know where to find it. -Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post - 11/12/11
Photos: Fishermen in Chaboksar Caspian Coast, Gilan
With the start of the fishing season, the fishermen at Iran's Caspian coast in Chaboksar, Gilan province are hard at work casting their nets for the white fish. -Youness Khani - 11/11/11
In Iran, Talk Of Military Strikes From Above Raises Fears Below
As the international community digests the UN watchdog's assertion of "possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program" the specter of armed conflict is very much a reality to Iranians, leaving ordinary citizens in fear of dark days to come. - 11/9/11
Photos: Mass Wedding for Martyrs' Children Held in Qom
A mass wedding ceremony was held in Qom, Iran last week for the children of martyrs (mostly those who were killed during Iran-Iraq war). 52 couples were wed during this festive program (report in Persian). -Hojjatollah Ataei - 11/8/11
Photos: Hajj Pilgrimage at Kaaba, Mecca
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam. The Qur'an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham and his son Ishmael, after Ishmael had settled in Arabia. The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. -Mehdi Ghasemi - 11/7/11
Birth Rates in 19 Iranian Provinces Fall Short of Replacement Level
A Birth Registration Organization official says according to statistics birth rate in 19 out of 31 provinces fall the replacement level and this shows the birth rate is moving toward a 'negative growth'. - 11/5/11
Mickey Mouse brings Disney diplomacy to Iran theme park
Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the Seven Dwarves are not the U.S.-friendly images usually associated with Iran. But in a small corner of Tehran, a surprising display of unofficial Disney diplomacy seems to fly in the face of official anti-American rhetoric. -CNN - 11/3/11
When is a bet not a bet? A day at the Iran races
Under Islamic sharia law, gambling is generally seen as illegal. But thanks to certain religious rulings, many race-goers are permitted to put money on the horses legally as long as they are "predicting" through official channels. -Reuters - 11/2/11
Photos: The Murals of Tehran
Many creative murals cover the walls in the streets of the capital city Tehran. Most of these murals are part of the beautification plan of the city, while some carry a social or political message. Here are a sample of those murals captured by photographer Khosrow Parkhideh. - 11/1/11
Photos: Horse Riding Games Festival in Sanandaj
A festival was held in the city of Sanandaj in western Iran on October 7 to display various local games played while riding horses. Sanandaj is the capital of Iran's Kurdistan Province. The population of Sanandaj is mainly Kurdish with an Armenian minority. -Saman Abbasi - 10/31/11
Photos: Harvesting Pomegranate in Sangan Village - Iran
The pomegranate is native to Iran and from there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus, the Himalayas in Northern India and in Kerala. Introduced into Latin America and California by Spanish settlers in 1769. - 10/29/11
Cartoons: Iranian women in Metro by Elham Ataei Azar
In this cartoon set, Elham Ataei Azar is displaying 31 digitally created artworks about the different characters of women's wagons in Tehran Metro. Ataei Azar held an exhibition in early September in Tehran displaying this group of works as Men Do Not Enter. - 10/28/11
Single-gender hospitals coming to Iranian provinces
Iranian Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi has declared that every Iranian province must establish at least one single-gender hospital. - 10/28/11
Persian Recipes Recall Lost Way of Life
Donia Bijan is an Iranian-American chef who fled Iran with her family during the 1979 revolution. After settling in the United States, Bijan's mother experimented with American cooking but always incorporated familiar Persian flavors, recreating a sense of home for her family. She passed those recipes to her daughter. -Faiza Elmasry - 10/26/11
Life In The Fast Lane For Iran's Well-Connected Super-Rich
Iranian financiers suspected of growing rich through links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are flaunting their wealth through the import of exclusive fast cars, an investigation backed by the European Union has found. - 10/17/11
Photos: Sixth Street Theater Festival in Marivan
Troupes from five countries are participating the Six Nationwide Street Theater Festival in Marivan, Iran's Kurdistan province. The international section of the Festival is being held from Oct 11-15 with performers from Tajikistan, Iraq, Japan, Turkey and France. -Saman Abbasi - 10/14/11
Panel Discussion in London: Persian Culture as a World Culture:
November 4th, 2011: Panel discussion followed by a concert to mark the 10th anniversary of the Soudavar Memorial Foundation - 10/13/11
Iran's top cop offers to resign if boy-girl survey proves true
Iran's top cop has offered to quit his job if anyone verifies the results of a recent survey that says 80% of Iranian students drink alcohol and have friendships with the opposite sex, the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency reported. -CNN - 10/11/11
I'VE GOT PERSIANALITY!
Perhaps the biggest challenge in Iranian fashion history has been the struggle between the old and the new. Iranians have famously been fashion innovators trying to balance expectations of the different tastes in their community. -Darius KADIVAR - 10/10/11
Assyrians Hold Major Meeting in Tehran
The 28th Assyrian Universal Alliance Congress kicked off in Tehran on October 6th. Assyrian Christians from more than twenty countries participated in the event. - 10/9/11
Social rules clash with reality for Iran's youth
Iran is governed by a version of sharia law which in theory prohibits any mingling between members of the opposite sex outside marriage or close family. While social rules were relaxed under reformist former President Mohammad Khatami, who was first elected in 1997, things have tightened up again since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad succeeded him in 2005. -Reuters - 10/7/11
50 female seminarians to be stationed in Tehran subway
The head of Tehran's subway system has announced that 50 female seminarians will be placed in various subway stations to respond to religious questions and commuter needs. - 10/4/11
Iran's War On Fun
A woman in the Iranian city of Mashad has become the latest victim of Iran's longest standing and most unconventional war -- the war against fun. The young woman, whose name and age has not been disclosed, jumped to her death over the weekend of September 24-25 from the sixth floor of a building. -Golnaz Esfandiari - 10/2/11
Photos: Culture Festival of Iranian Tribes in Golestan
Art and culture aficionados gathered in the northern Iranian city of Gorgan in Golestan Province on Tuesday to celebrate the opening ceremony of the 5th Culture Festival of Iranian Tribes. Over 140 Iranian artisans along with foreign artists from neighboring countries of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and Armenia are displaying their variety of arts. - 9/30/11
Mehregan Thanksgiving Festival: The Autumn Festival of Harvest
Mehregan is one of the two most ancient Iranian festivals known, dating back at least as far as the earliest Aryans (Iranians). The word "Mehr" (in Mehregan) in the Persian language means kindness. Mehr represents knowledge, love, light and friendship. -Firouzeh Mirrazavi, Iran Review - 9/26/11
Photos: Cultural, Sports Festival of Villages in Gamishan
A cultural and sports festivals was held by the Gorgan Bay on Friday. Over 2500 people from the villages of Gamishan town in Iran's Golestan province participated at the event. - 9/19/11
Photos: Eighteenth International Youth Visual Arts Festival, Gorgan-Iran
270 Iranian artists showcased their works during the festival along with more than 50 participants from other countries. The event included paintings, caricatures, drawings, sculptures, graphic designs, calligraphies, illustrations, pottery, ceramic and photographs created by young artists. - 9/18/11
Gandhi's Legacy: Civil Disobedience Takes Off In Iran
"The Iranian regime faces a threat even more daunting than the 2009 Green Movement protests: a disparate yet potentially powerful civil disobedience movement motivated not just by politics, but by environmental, economic, and social issues," wrote Alireza Nader, an international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, in a recent blog post. -Robert Tait, RFE - 9/17/11
Sex Education in the Islamic Republic
This recently issued instruction video, with explicit references to relations between the sexes and tips for pleasurable love making, received permits from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and also from the Ministry of Health and Human Services. As Mardomak, the website that first posted the DVDs, put it, it's probably the first of its kind in the Islamic Republic. -PBS - 9/12/11
Photos: Iran Invaded by Barbie, Peacefully!
Children's Barbie backpacks and handbags are in high demand in Iran. Many stores are now producing Barbie bags instead of the traditional ones, which is an indication of the cultural shift among the Iranian families. - 9/11/11
Minister answers call for gender segregation in universities
Iran's Assembly of Experts is calling on officials to institute gender segregation in Iranian universities, prompting Iran's Minister of Science and Technology to announce: "Women's Colleges will be established all across Iran." - 9/10/11
Masouleh: An Amazing Village In North of IRAN
A few weeks ago I took a short trip to Masouleh with some friends. We had such a good time and the weather was marvelous. I took some pictures and here I would like to share them with you. -Pooneh Shahmir - 9/7/11
Iranian Police Arrest Water-Pistol 'Rebels'
Iranian police have started cracking down on water fights springing up across the country, arresting several young men and women who took part in the latest organized water-pistol battles. - 9/4/11
Should I sleep with my Iranian co-worker?
He's a Zoroastrian refugee, tortured in Iran, and has never heard of an open relationship -Salon.com - 8/31/11
A Persian al fresco feast
The tantalizing cuisine of Persia isn't what most people expect from a part of the world best known for searing spices and political unrest. Culturally and linguistically different from their neighbors in the Middle East, Iranians don't cook the same way, either. -Susan Hathaway, San Jose Mercury - 8/31/11
Music Finds a Voice in Tehran
The waiter at the coffee shop moves rapidly to the entrance for a quick glance outside. Within, a young Iranian musician has started to play the saxophone. He has five minutes to perform, he cannot risk a raid on the "guerrilla" location for a little music. -Leonidas Ntilsizian, IPS - 8/30/11
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